“Clearly what is of more concern to him is a potential football banning order.

“He is not a season ticket holder and he doesn’t attend the Stadium of Light regularly, but he is a Sunderland fan.

“On this occasion, his brother was struggling financially and he decided to buy the two of them tickets to the game.

“This incident happened when Sunderland was already one down and Reading scored again.

“He was eating a pie at the time and it was a momentary lapse of concentration.

“He intended to throw the pie on the ground, but he threw it onto the pitch.

“He’s shown a great deal of remorse and he is concerned about the likely publicity that will follow, which it generally does from incidents within the ground.

“Clearly he hasn’t got the record of someone prone to going out getting drunk and causing disorder at football matches.”

District Judge Roger Elsey said: “You know that disorder at football matches can have serious consequences and can encourage others to instigate similar incidents.

“An offence of throwing a missile onto a football pitch has to be punished.”

Mackel was fined £300 and was told to pay a £30 surcharge and £85 costs.

Judge Elsey said he had decided not to make a football banning order, citing Mackel’s lack of previous arrests for football-related disorder and the lack of consequential disorder following the incident. As a result, he said, the order would not help prevent violence and disorder.

The judge warned him: “You understand that if you get arrested at the Stadium of Light again there will be a banning order.”